True Beauty

Yesterday Natalie and I were drawing pictures at the kitchen table. She drew several large circles and exclaimed, "oh these are boo-i-ful!" I chuckled and said, "Yes they are Nat! And so are you!" She looked at me quizzically for a moment and replied, "No, no, I not booiful, deeze (gesturing towards the circles) are booiful." Then I said, "Natalie, is mommy beautiful?"

"NO!" she said a little too emphatically for my taste. "Mommy not booiful."

Darn. Where's the love? Oh well, you gotta appreciate kids and their honesty.


About 2 hours later I was buckling her into her car seat and out of the blue she said, "Mommy, I BOOIFUL!" My precious little girl, I couldn't agree more.


But I won't press my luck and ask what she thinks of her mommy...:)

Through a Child's Eyes...

Jake and Natalie are fascinated when I pull out my camera. (For the record, this would be a disposable Kodak One-Time Use camera - we really need to upgrade, don't you think?) The other day Jake wanted to take my picture so I handed him the camera and this is what transpired.

So this is what Jake sees when he looks at his mommy! Glad I was smiling. Unfortunately, there are probably many moments when I'm not. Lately I've been feeling irritable and impatient towards the kids, especially around dinner/bathtime. I hate feeling this way. I hope this picture will serve as a reminder to me to be the happy, positive mommy Jake and Natalie need.

Oh, and tonight during one of my grumpy mommy moments, Jake leaned over and gave me a great big kiss. His timing was impeccable; I was getting ready to gripe at him (for the 3rd time)for not getting in the tub quickly enough. Just another way that my 4 year old child keeps teaching me the concept of grace. Thanks, sweetie.

My Father's Love

Jake had a tantrum the other day - a raging, ear-splitting, nails-down-the-chalkboard kind of tantrum. And it was all because of chocolate milk.

The kids' preschool has Chick-Fil-A fundraisers several times a year, where 20% of your order total is donated to the school. Since you don't have to twist our arms to go to CFA anyway, I went through the drive-thru on fundraiser night to pick up dinner. Jake rode with me; Natalie was home with Nick. Things were peaceful as I pulled up to the window to place my order. I got our usual order (2 kids meals with nuggets, fries, and lemonade, a salad and sweet tea for me, and just waffle fries for Nick.) As soon as I paid for the food and started to drive away, Jake asked, "Mommy, what did you get me to drink?"

"Lemonade." I answered.

"But I want chocwat milk!" (There was a hint of whine in his voice at this point.)

"Well, you always get lemonade, so I just assumed you wanted it this time. Sorry."

"I don't WANT wemonade!!!! I want chocwat MILK!!!!!!!!"

"Jake" I said, trying to stay calm, "we have chocolate milk at home."

"BUT I WANT CHICKAWAY CHOCWAT MILK! GO BACK AND GET ME SOME! DON'T WANT WEMONADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He was crying hard at this point.

I pulled over in the parking lot and ordered him to stop whining. Right now. Of course he didn't. We sat there for several minutes, me lecturing him on gratitude and him crying about the unfairness of having to drink a beverage he wasn't in the mood to drink. I know my tone of voice wasn't the nicest because I was pretty annoyed at this point. The crisis eventually passed, with me promising that I would check with Jake next time before ordering his drink but that he needed to keep the whining in check. I drove home grumpy and irritated.

Later that night, I pondered what had happened. Yes, it was a bit ridiculous for Jake to be so upset; after all, he was getting a yummy meal to eat even if it wasn't exactly what he had in mind. But how often have I done the same thing? How many times has my Father up above given me wonderful blessings that I have ignored or complained about? I wake up to a beautiful day and complain that the temperature is too hot or cold. I gripe about being tired and stressed out as a mom, even though He has given me 2 of the most amazing gifts I could ever hope for in my children. I whine about my husband working too much, forgetting that we are extraordinarily lucky that he has a good job and that he loves and provides for us. The list goes on, but it is humbling and convicting when I think about it.


I think perhaps God has given us the gift of parenthood to illustrate the relationship He has with us. In spite of Jake's incessant complaining about the lemonade, I still love him more than I can describe. No matter how frustrating things may get, my love for Jake and Natalie is constant. How comforting to realize that God's love is the same for me. Even when I behave like a tantruming, ungrateful child, God still loves me and continues to bless me. He doesn't yell and scream at me; He doesn't yank His blessings away. How amazing and gracious He is - I hope I can learn to extend the same grace to my own children here on earth.

"It's A GRIL!"

The big news in our house these days is that Nick and I are grandparents! Yes, that is correct - Jake "gave birth" the other day. Since a four year old boy having a baby is medically unprecedented, I wanted to record the story here first, before the press finds out:)

The kids were hanging out in Natalie's room Tuesday morning when suddenly, Jake looked at me and said, "Mommy, I have a baby in my tummy."

"You do?" I replied, slightly amused, but I had heard him say this before. After all, several of my friends have had babies recently.

"Yes!" Jake said. "And I'm gonna push it out!" With that, he began grunting "UUUUHHHHH, UUUUHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" The next thing I know, he picks up one of Natalie's baby dolls and says, "Here it is!"

Trying to contain my laughter, I ask if it's a boy or a girl. Jake ponders this for a moment, looks at his new arrival, and says, "it's a gril." (There are no 'girls' in Jake's vocabulary, only 'grils.')

Smiling, I congratulate my son and turn to leave the room. I was thinking that surely this was just a cute game he was playing, one that would be forgotten as we progressed through our day.

I was wrong. This little 'gril' has been very present in our lives this week. Jake laid her down on the couch for a nap before going to preschool, all snuggled in a blanket. He slept with her some nights and I would hear him say things like "you can have some water after we read a story" in a very gentle and soothing tone. When I went to get him up Thursday morning, he was in the playroom pretending to change her diaper. For now, baby gril is a part of our family.

I love seeing this tender side of Jake. He's fairly sensitive anyway, but oh how this really tugged at my heart! Years from now, when the timing is right, I am excited to see him be a daddy because I can see already how much love he has to give. He's certainly off to a good start.

True confessions

My name is Kristen, and my four year old son loves to carry purses.


Yes, Jake is all boy. He loves running around outside and wrestling with his male buddies, Nathan and Campbell. He is fascinated by his penis. He adores his cars, trucks, and trains. But he needs something to tote those vehicles around, and his container of choice lately is a hot pink purse. Before we leave to go somewhere he will even say, "wait a minute, let me get my purse!"


Yesterday I had to take Natalie to Pediatric Express for a strep culture. (I must say this is a wonderful place to go if your child is sick and you can't see your regular doctor.) The poor girl was very clingy and lethargic, so I had her on my lap when the doctor walked into the exam room. The doctor greeted us and then looked at Jake, who was patiently sitting on a chair on the other side of the room.


"Hey there," the doctor said. "Aren't you a good big brother? You're even holding your sister's purse for her."

"Um, actually," I said, "that purse is his."

"Oh!" the doctor said, chuckling a bit.

What can I say? We're a fairly liberal family! Secretly though, I must confess I hope his purse-carrying days are just a phase. The thought of him getting teased one day just breaks my heart.

Besides, hot pink is really not Jake's best color!

Pictures

I rarely take pictures, and when I do they often don't turn out very well. Thank goodness that my sister-in-law is an expert photographer (among her other many talents). Really, over half of the photos I have of my family are because of her - I am so thankful that she shares her talent so generously with me. You're the best, Heather!

BUT, these photos I'm posting right now are ones I took. Anyone reading this who knows me is probably in shock right now. I'm sort of in shock myself! They're not anything spectacular, but hey, at least I got off my unmotivated rear and actually took them. Maybe turning 34 inspired me!

Vive La Difference!

Natalie started preschool this year. She goes 2 mornings a week, and has the same teachers Jake had when he was her age. It cracks me up when I read her daily progress note and it says things like, "Wow, she and Jake sure are different!." Truer words have never been spoken.

Jake is a pretty mellow child. He does have SPD, but aside from that his temperment is fairly laid back. He is sweet, but also very much all boy. He LOVES his cars, trains, trucks, and airplanes. He is vehicle obsessed. To this day he carries a car or train with him wherever he goes. And he always brings along enough to share with his friends, because in his mind, how can you have fun without a vehicle of some sort? I love his generous spirit. He is only 4, but really does take the time to select enough things so that each person in our group that day won't be left out. Yes, he has meltdowns and disagreeable moments just like any other child, but he makes my heart melt on a daily basis. An added bonus is that he plays independently extremely well, which is great for Mommy when I have a million other things going on or I just need some downtime.

Then there's my Natalie. She is one of the feistiest children I have ever known. It makes our days challenging, but also tons of fun. She loves to be silly and loves music, singing, Dora, and Oreo cookies. And ice cream - boy can that girl put away some ice cream! One of my favorite recent moments with her was the other day when we were driving in the car. She started crying that she had a boo boo and "kiss it mommy!" I explained that I was driving and couldn't reach back to kiss it. She cried a bit more, then stopped. I heard a big MMM-MUH and glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see her kissing herself. How resourceful, that daughter of mine! I just love her so darn much, even when she's pushing my buttons!

How funny that 2 kids from the same gene pool can be so different! I'm so blessed by both of them.

Preschool Porn?

Thanks to DVR technology, the kids often ask me to rewind certain moments of their favorite shows so they can watch them again. Since they watch programs such as Dora, Thomas and Friends, Little Einsteins, and Max and Ruby, imagine my surprise the other day when Jake calls out to me, "Mommy, I want to watch the porn again."

I turn around, certain I didn't hear him correctly. "What, Jakey?"

"The porn," he says calmly, pointing to the television where Dora and Diego were playing in a forest.

"What the heck is their twisted relationship anyway? Aren't they cousins? " I think to myself. It took me a few seconds of studying the program before I made the connection that Diego was SOARING through the trees on a PULLEY; therefore Jake's little ears had combined the words to come up with "porn."

"Oh!"I exclaimed, very relieved. "You want to watch Diego soar on the pulley again."

"Yes," smiled Jake. "The porn."




I will truly miss the day when that word is no longer innocent for him.